Manchester United have been heavily linked with Sporting CP captain Fernandes for some months with the player tipped to leave Portugal after scoring 32 goals and laying on 18 assists last term.
And as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to continue bolstering his squad following the additions of Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Fernandes is seemingly his next major target.
A Bola report that the player’s agent and brother-in-law, Miguel Pinho, is currently in England to conduct talks about his client’s future.
It is claimed that both United and Tottenham will submit opening offers for the 24-year-old in the coming days.
Sporting are thought to want £54million (€70m) for their prized asset, who has also been linked with Manchester City and Liverpool.
Solskjaer revealed this week that he is hopeful of completing two more signings and told reporters: “It’s hard getting players in and over the line.
“We’ve been doing our jobs. We’ve been scouting, finding and identifying players. It took time with Aaron, it took time with Dan, but they got it over the line. It’s not like we’re going to sign 10 players. It can’t be a quick fix.
“We’re working on one or two and we’re still hoping, but I also understand that the market has changed – prices have soared.”
But Spurs – who have already broken their club record transfer fee to sign Tanguy Ndombele this summer – are also apparently keen on Fernandes as Mauricio Pochettino looks to reshape his midfield.
The north London club also have interest in Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso, who could soon be available with Betis set to sign former Liverpool target Nabil Fekir.
But it has been claimed it would take £67m to sign Lo Celso, with Fernandes a cheaper alternative provided United do not force a bidding war for the Portugal international.
Transfer expert Duncan Castles meanwhile claims clubs in France have also shown interest in Fernandes, who he thinks .
“Sporting have retained their pricing on the player. In fact, they’ve slightly increased it I think, given this news from the brother-in-law, and they are saying that they will not sell the player for less than €60m [£54m],” Castles told the The Transfer Window podcast.
“The flaw of course is that Miguel Pinho has been telling Sporting that an offer would be coming in from major clubs for several months now, so I think there’s a degree of scepticism at the Portuguese club that this offer will come.
“But they are ready to sell if the money is right and remain hopeful that they will be able to cash in on the player.
“As we’ve told you before, Fernandes is the figure in their squad that they identified as a player they wanted to sell this summer to raise cash, their most valuable player given the goals he scored last season, and they are ready to deal at the right price.
“I’m also told from the Sporting end that there is some interest from French clubs. Again, whether that transpires into a bid or not remains to be seen.”